Asgardian Shenanigans
by Ashitheviolinist
Summary: Loki and Thor share a special brotherly bond. Whether it's doing each other favors or stabbing each other in the back (both literally and figuratively), they love each other dearly. Tons of fluff, series of unrelated one-shots
1. A Stabbing in the Library

Loki heard the light pitter of rain fall on to the roof of the library. Embracing the sound he sunk deeper into his chair and turned the page of his book. For once, his oaf of a brother was not bothering him; he was busy with homework, which Loki deemed rather simple, but his idiot brother lacked the cranial capacity to finish it in a timely matter.

Loki felt his muscles tense as he heard footsteps approaching the grand, gilded door of the library. Mentally, he prayed that the incipient footsteps belonged to his mother and not Thor or father as the last two were…difficult to deal with. All hope was lost when the doors swung open abruptly, revealing his tall, blond brother. Loki had to sit on his hands to prevent himself from summoning his favorite daggers.

"Ah, Thor." He murmured contempt filling his voice. "Whatever you are here for, I advise you get it over with. You've already bothered me."

"Don't be so mean, brother." Thor whined, draping his large body onto Loki's chair. "The homework is just so hard."

"That is only because you're an idiot."

"I am not." Thor disagreed, punching Loki's shoulder.

The smaller god took a steadying breath before looking back to his book. He wasn't in the mood for duking it out with his brother at the current moment, so he decided to ignore him.

"Loki~" Thor whined again, his head uncomfortably close to Loki's ear. "Wanna spar? No. I have to do my homework, so we can't spar now. But I really don't want to do homework! It's so hard. You can do it, right? Please? Please?"

Loki's patience was reaching a breaking point. He didn't have much patience to begin with, but whatever abysmal amount he had was running seriously thin. With as much force as possible, Loki slammed his book shut and turned to Thor. "If I do your homework, will you leave me alone?" He capitulated, raising a single, dark eyebrow.

"Yes! Of course!" Thor insisted shoving his set of crumpled papers into Loki's face. "I just don't get math at all. When I'm king, I'm going to ban it!"

"That's stupid." Loki commented, taking the paper from Thor's hands. "Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you can ban it forever. Unless it's banning older brothers. When I'm king I'll ban all older brothers. Actually, they can exist, the younger brother will just have all the authority."

"That's even more stupid." Thor muttered. "Please, brother, just do my homework."

"I know, I know. I'm doing it." Loki placed the papers onto the table in front of him and quickly scanned them. "You've answered nearly every question wrong." He murmured, shaking his head with disappointment.

"Oh." Thor looked down dejectedly. "But you'll fix them, right?"

"Yes, brother." Loki quickly filled out the sheets, passing them back to Thor quickly. "That was simple, you witless oaf."

Thor looked taken-aback. "At least I'm not pathetic and scrawny!"

"Absolute swine."

"Bookish coward."

"I am not a coward and at least I have some semblance of a brain!" Loki retorted indignantly.

"I know, I know." Thor laughed. "I love you Loki." With that, he tackled the god to the ground in a debilitating hug, breaking several of the legs of Loki's chair.

Feeling the air be thoroughly knocked out of his lungs, Loki emitted a high-pitched, guttural groan. His chest ached terribly and Thor was not getting off. "Get off!" Loki choked out, trying futilely to push his brother off of him.

Thor didn't respond, but instead turned his head to grin at his brother.

Loki tried one more time to push the iron hulk that was his brother off of him, but was met with more failure. He truly had no other choice. Wriggling his arm out from underneath Thor, he summoned his dagger; with a mischievous smile, he plunged the blade into his brother's back, burying it all the way to the hilt.

Thor tensed in pain, his body arching upward for just enough time to allow Loki to slither out from under him. Taking deep breaths, Loki replenished his previously oxygen-deprived lungs.

"Don't do that, brother." Loki chastised, grabbing Thor's legs so that he could drag him to the healing room. "I can and I will stab you. As you can see, I just did."

"Loki…" Thor groaned, growing dizzy from the loss of blood.

Quickly Loki realized that Thor was simply too heavy for him to carry. He tried again to drag the young god out the door, but was unable to move Thor's limp body more than a few centimeters. He cursed silently to himself, mulling over the options that he had. He could leave Thor here to bleed out and die, he could make a mechanism to move Thor, but risk him bleeding out before he was finished, or he could call for his mother. Mother would not be happy, but he couldn't just let Thor die. He'd be in even more trouble if he did that. Taking a deep breath and building up courage, he called for his mother. "Mother! Thor is hurt! Come quickly!"

Within seconds, Frigga came running through the door, a look of worry plastered on her face. "Loki, what hap-" she looked at the scene in front of her. The dagger embedded in Thor certainly belonged to Loki. "I don't even know where to start."

"I-I'm sorry mother." Loki whispered. The apology to his mother was sincere, but he didn't feel a bit of remorse towards his brother. He absolutely deserved that stab.

"I know you're not sorry about stabbing your brother Loki." Frigga sighed, a deadpanned look replacing the worried one. "I doubt any amount of chastising is going to stop you from stabbing your brother again, but at least let me teach you healing magic."

Loki nodded and knelt over his brother's limp body.

"Loki…" Thor muttered again with as much malice as he could in his currently half-conscious state.

"Now do as I do." Frigga instructed, placing her hands above Thor. "Channel raw magic to your hands as you do to begin any spell. Now," she placed her hand on the stab wound, "focus on knitting the blood vessels, tissue, muscles, and skin back together."

Loki nodded.

"Now you finish it."

Tensing his face in concentration, Loki's hands began to glow a light green. Slowly, the skin around Thor's wound knit itself back together; soon, all that was left was a light scar. Loki fell forwards onto his knees, breathing heavily. "That…" he began breathlessly, "is very difficult."

"You'll get the hang of it soon." Frigga commended, helping Loki to his feet. "Now I'm going to get Thor to his room. He'll probably sleep for the rest of the day."

* * *

Thor proudly turned his homework into his teacher.

"It was easy." He gloated, lingering in the front of the classroom to see his teacher's reaction.

"Thor," she began, "every answer here is wrong!"

Thor shot a murderous look at his brother.

 **A/N: I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Since I'm not in the mood to start a serious fic with a coherent storyline, I'm publishing a bunch of my personal headcannons in one-shot form. If anyone reads this, the next chapter will be about Thor, Loki, and Odin together. Even if no one reads this, that is still what the chapter will be about! Anyway, please favorite and review! I really appreciate the support.**


	2. I Promise, Brother

**INFINITY WAR SPOILERS! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**

Thor looked around the room, an emptiness filling his chest. A sad smile graced his face as he saw his friends be reunited with their loved ones. The joy that emanated from them was tangible; so corporeal that is physically hurt Thor. It was a cruel mockery of the pain he had gone through losing his brother this final time. Loki was all he had left; after everything Thor had done with him, after every bitter betrayal and heartfelt reunion, Loki had finally left him for good. He heard the happy voices surround him. He heard every proclamation of love and every tearful 'I miss you'. He heard everything he wished he had been able to tell his brother one last time. Instead, the last words Loki heard from him had been 'you truly are the worst brother'. Something that Thor never truly believed. So much was left unsaid and yet, he was forced to keep his words of love and appreciation between himself and Loki's ghost.

Despite his deep grief, no tears fell down Thor's face for there were far too many feelings coursing through him. Slowly, he dragged his feet towards Dr. Strange.

"Y-you said that you reversed everything that Thanos did with the time stone." Thor mumbled weakly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry Thor." The doctor sighed. "I did everything I could."

Thor nodded solemnly and sat back on his perch by the large window. From his vantage point, he could see the sprawling universe, decorated with stars, and painted with deep blues and purples. Every time Thor looked out at the universe, it was different; never did it cease to amaze him. From the corner of Thor's vision, he saw an incipient black speck. At first, he believed it to be a mere comet or a hunk of space debris, but as it got closer, it began to don the shape of a ship. Refusing to get his hopes up, Thor stared at the ship apathetically, simply hoping that it was not an enemy. Once the ship was fully in vision, Thor knew exactly to whom it belonged. It was one of Asgard's own, the one the population had escaped on after Asgard was destroyed! Quickly, Thor's eyes lit up.

"Open the docking port!" He commanded, pushing the happy Avengers aside. "It's an Asgardian ship!"

"On it!" Steve ran to the control panel, pushing the necessary buttons. "You're sure they're not the enemy, right Thor?"

"Positive." Thor said with determination. Though his brother may not be on the ship, at least he'd be reunited with some of his people.

Anticipation surged through Thor's body as the leader of the other ship began to lead the Asgardians onto the ship of the Avengers. He recognized many of the civilians that began to file into the storage hull of the ship; his face blossomed in a smile when he saw the tall, rock body of his new friend Korg and the smaller, yet even more fierce Valkyrie. It seemed as if all of the passengers had exited; Thor sighed again, yet he was not quite as broken as before. Still, he would always miss his brother more than anything. This time, he would truly erect a statue in commemoration of Loki. Beneath him would be a plaque that spoke only of his wit, love, and cunning.

Just as the doors of the Asgardian ship were about to close, a thin, horned figure came strutting through the aforementioned door and into the ship. With bravado, he pushed past the civilians and opened the doors to the main cabin.

"Thor." He muttered, smiling affectionately at his brother. "You made it too."

"Loki!" Thor cried, running towards the smaller god. "Loki! You're alive!"

His eyes finally filling with tears of joy, Thor threw his large body at his brother, knocking him clean off his feet. Loki coughed several times, pushing himself up to meet Thor's teary gaze.

"Brother." Loki murmured. "I was so worried. I don't know what happened. One minute I was being strangled by Thanos and the next-"

Thor interrupted Loki's rant by wrapping his arms around him. For once, Loki reciprocated the hug, burying his face into Thor's shoulder.

"Don't leave me ever again." Thor whispered, not letting Loki move. "I can't stand to lose you ever again."

Thor felt Loki breathe out deeply, as if at a loss for words. "I-" Loki started, his voice soft and lacking its typical sarcasm, "I promise, brother."

"I love you Loki."

"I love you too."

 **A/N: this is just a speculation of what the ending of Avengers 4 may be. God I hope it ends like this!**


	3. Illusions and Physical Strength

Thor woke up early in anticipation. There was nothing he loved more than training with his father; he excelled in all things physical and he simply dominated when it came to sparring with his brother. He dressed quickly, practically jumping into his clothes, grabbing his special cape. He had only trained with his brother and father twice before, but he knew that those two days had been the best days of his life, not only because he got to beat the ever-loving crap out of his brother, but because his father seemed to be _so_ proud of him. Still jittery, he crashed through the halls of the palace.

"I need sustenance!" He cried to no one in particular, stumbling into the dining room. "Mother, what's for breakfast?"

"Why are you in such a hurry this morning Thor?" Frigga inquired, chuckling at her puppy of a son. "You usually don't wake up for another thirty minutes."

"I have _training_ today, mother!" Thor exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I _love_ training!"

"I can tell." Frigga sat Thor down at the table and placed a steaming plate of breakfast in front of him. "I'm going to wake your brother. He doesn't seem to share the same enthusiasm that you do."

"Tell him to get ready quickly!" Thor scarfed down his breakfast like a starving animal, spreading crumbs all over the table.

Frigga sighed at her son's obvious lack of table manners.

* * *

Loki lay in bed dreading the coming day. Though he was far wittier and more intelligent than his brother, he was completely outclassed when it came to physical strength. In fact, Loki was straight out scrawny. He couldn't complete a single push-up and managed to embarrass himself in front of his father _every time_ he had to display his physical strength. This time, he was going to find a way to avoid the seemingly inevitable embarrassment. He _was_ the clever brother after all. Sighing deeply, he pushed himself out of bed. His long black hair formed a messy halo around his head and lacked its typical greased back look. Brushing his hair, he began to formulate his master plan. Recently, his mother had started teaching him illusions. Unlike his brother, his strength wasn't physical, so fighting like his mother would treat Loki much better. According to Frigga, he was a natural and had already mastered several illusions. Looking into the mirror, Loki grinned mischievously. He was going to trick everyone.

* * *

The training ground was located in the middle of a park. Walls of weapons and first-aid supplies lined the walls that formed a perimeter around the square field. Thor resided in the center, bouncing enthusiastically on his toes, waiting for his father to initiate the training session.

"Thor, Loki," Odin began, "we will be training today."

"I know, father!" Thor replied ebulliently, his grin shining brilliantly. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Indeed." Odin nodded sagely. "Why don't we warm up? I'd love to see you two display your physical strength."

An illusion of Loki standing next to his brother smiled happily. This was all going to plan.

"I'll do fourty pushups!" Thor announced, dropping into a plank position. True to his word, he completed forty rapid-fire pushups.

"I'll do sixty." Loki boasted, his illusion completing his promised amount in record time.

"That was very impressive Loki." Odin commended. "Have you been practicing?"

"Quite a lot, father." He looked up at Odin innocently. He actually wasn't lying; he _had_ been practicing his illusions. Loki reveled in his supposed success after receiving an approving smile from Odin. He did it! He tricked his father!

* * *

Odin sat down heavily on his bed next to Frigga. "So, you've been teaching Loki illusions?"

"I have." Frigga replied. "Did he show them to you?"

"Yes, but I believe he was trying to fool me into thinking he had physical strength."

"Let him be. At least he used his wit."

"But he needs strength!" Odin insisted, looking imploringly at Frigga. "He can't be weak and scrawny forever."

"Not all strength lies in physical prowess." Frigga shook her head. "You should know that after the handful of times I bested you in combat despite being physically weaker."

"I suppose." Odin capitulated. "You love Loki so much."

"He is my son." Frigga smiled at her husband. "I will always love him as such."

 **A/N: I love Loki and Frigga's relationship so much! You can absolutely expect to see more of them in chapters to come. Please, feel free to leave reviews requesting scenes that you want to see. I'd me more than happy to write them.**

 **For the record, Loki will be pansexual in this fic. When Valkyrie is introduced, she will be bi.**

 **Please favorite and review! Thanks for reading my stuff!**


	4. What do you do With all this House!

"I've got a new internship for you kid." Tony announced nonchalantly to Peter as they walked side by side in Central Park.

"Really, Mr. Stark?" Peter replied enthusiastically, "Where is it? Do I get to learn cool fighting from Cap? That would be awesome." Peter looked expectantly to Tony's face. The man was half smiling, half grimacing.

"I was thinking of somewhere a bit farther away." He looked cryptically back at Peter, pushing his sunglasses up onto his nose.

"What does Aunt May think about this?" Peter's voice was unsure and hesitant. "Also, I don't want to miss too much school."

"Don't worry, kid. I got this all figured out."

"Okay, then where is it."

"What do you think about spending some time on Asgard with Thor?"

Peter's eyes instantly lit up, his posture straightened, and he donned the largest grin known to man. "That sounds amazing, Mr. Stark!" He exclaimed, bouncing on his toes. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah." Tony sighed, patting the boy's head. "Thor's gonna pick you up tomorrow via the bifrost. It'll look pretty cool."

"Do I need to pack any clothes?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll love Asgardian fashion."

Tony dropped the excited Peter off at the door of his apartment. Waving a quick goodbye, he sauntered back to the park, deciding to spend a little more time in nature. Unfortunately, Pepper wasn't at home, meaning that Tony would be alone. At the moment, he didn't want to be alone. He was feeling strangely happy and extremely sociable. Almost happy enough to engage in conversation with Cap. Chuckling at himself, he shook his head at the idea. He was going to miss Peter while he was away on Asgard.

* * *

A blindingly bright ray of rainbow light touched down on the lawn behind Avenger tower. As the light receded, the tall, buff form of Thor began to manifest. Peter's excitement grew exponentially as he saw Thor's smiling face; next to the god of thunder was a slightly shorter, significantly lankier man with a seemingly permanent smirk on his face.

"Man of spiders!" Thor announced, his voice booming. "My brother and I are going to escort you to Asgard where you will study our wonderful civilization!"

Peter looked at the other man and nodded in understanding. "So you're Loki!" He concluded. "I've heard about you."

"Oh, so I'm assuming you find me evil?" Loki smirked again.

"No, not at all!" Peter chuckled. "I just think you're misunderstood."

Loki turned his head abruptly towards Thor looking confusedly at him. Thor merely smiled back and beckoned for Peter to join him on the bifrost landing site. Peter pranced into the circle excitedly, glancing eagerly at the sky. Moments later, the blinding ray of light returned, enveloping them in a bright rainbow.

Peter stumbled out of the light and tripped onto the feet of the gatekeeper.

"Thor, you brought back another mortal." Heimdall sighed. "I hope you don't plan on marrying this one."

"As the Midgardians would say, 'oh hell no'!" Thor shook his head comically. "The man of iron sent him here for an internship."

"Yeah," Peter started, "about the internship. What exactly am I going to be doing?"

Thor smiled at the boy and pat him (rather forcefully) on the back. "Well learning about Asgardian culture of course! You will also be observing Asgard's new system of two kings."

"What?" Peter looked at Thor quizzically. "I thought you were the only king. Who's the other?"

"Me." Loki stated, crossing his arms and standing up straighter.

"Oh! That's awesome. Love your horns by the way. Can I touch 'em?"

Loki looked taken aback. Someone loved his horns? Someone, other than Thor, loved something about him? "I-I suppose." He replied apprehensively, lifting the horned helmet off his head and offering it to the Midgardian.

Peter's eyes lit up as he held the gilded helmet. "Is it like 24 carat gold?" He inquired, poking the sharp tip of the horns. Noticing Loki's confused expression, he corrected himself. "Oh, maybe you don't have that here. Anyway, these are sharp. Can you use them to, I dunno, stab people?"

"Oh don't get him started!" Thor interrupted. "We don't need any stabbing today. Why don't we go to where you'll be staying."

"Am I staying at a hotel? Like the one I stayed at during the academic decathlon?"

"No, no, you'll be staying in a guest room at the palace. Don't worry there are many people who live in the palace. Not just Loki and I."

"Who else then?"

"Some close friends my brother and I have made. The amazing warrior, Valkyrie, the man made of rocks, Korg, don't worry he's really not intimidating at all, and his friend Meik. You'll probably see Lady Sif wandering in and out, but she prefers to stay in her own residence."

* * *

Peter gawked at the sheer grandeur of the palace. It took up the equivalent of two city blocks and was completely covered in gold; sunlight reflected off of it, casting rainbow shadows by the grand entryway. "What do you do with all this house?" Peter asked incredulously. "I mean, it's giant!"

"Ah, you get used to it." Thor assured the man of spiders. "Let's go in now, shall we."

The interior of the palace was even more majestic than the exterior. A velvet carpet lined the front hallway and golden candle-holders lined the walls. Thor led Peter through the expansive hallways and to a set of wide stairs.

"Your room is the first to the left." Thor instructed. "Loki and I are on the next floor, but if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to consult Valkyrie. Her bedroom is adjacent to yours."

"Thanks Mr…" Peter hesitated. "Uh, what should I call you?"

"Thor's fine, boy!" Thor laughed heartily, his booming voice echoing in the large room. "Now get settled. I'll tell you when dinner's ready."

"Okay Thor!" Peter jogged up the stairs and quickly located his room. Pushing the heavy door open, he gasped at the lavishly decorated bedroom. How was this a guest room? It was practically the size of his apartment in New York! On the far left side of the room was a four-poster bed with a wine-red velvet curtain surrounding it. Across the room was a vanity and dresser that took up the entirety of the wall. The entire room glinted a yellow and gold, illuminating every piece of furniture and even Peter's face. Boy, this put Avenger Tower to shame! Sure that was luxurious, but this-this was a piece of art. Peter spotted a door on the left wall and opened it. Inside was a sprawling bathroom, complete with a tub the size of a small swimming pool and marble tiles. He sighed in relief when he noticed that Thor had not forgotten to supply a toothbrush, soap, and shampoo. He doubted there were any Walgreens on Asgard.

After jumping on the bed, gazing out the window, pretending to eat grapes on the couch, and scaling the walls and the vaulted ceiling, someone knocked on the door. Abruptly, Peter jumped down from his spot on the rafters and opened the door. Standing in front of him was a short, but muscular woman, nursing a colorful cocktail.

"You're Peter, eh?" She commented, her words slightly slurred. "Dinner's ready."

"Oh! You must be Valkyrie!" Peter reached for her hand to shake, but the woman seemed to drunk to notice. "Um, thanks for telling me."

Valkyrie's eyes snapped back into focus. "Oh yeah. No problem kid."

Swaying slightly, the woman made her way down the stairs, supporting herself on the banister from time to time. Peter didn't doubt that she was strong, but she was obviously drunk.

* * *

Peter stepped into the dining room, surprised again at the sheer vastness. The table was wide enough to fit two people at the head, Thor and Loki sitting next to each other.

"Ah! Peter!" Thor greeted. "Take a seat, anywhere! Food will be served soon."

Peter sat down next to Loki, smiling at the god. A few seconds later, a large… man? Well, pile of rocks sat down next to him.

"Hey." The rock-man greeted. "My name's Korg. I'm Thor's friend. As you can see, I'm made of rocks, but don't let that intimidate you, unless you're made of scissors. Do you have rock-paper-scissors where you come from? Anyway. This is my best friend Miek. He's really cool. Nice to meetcha. What's your name?"

"I'm Peter!" Peter introduced himself to Korg. "And yeah. There's rock-paper-scissors where I come from."

Thor glanced over to Valkyrie and sighed. "I thought you said you were cutting down on drinking." He commented, noticing her flushed cheeks and unfocused expression.

"Yeah? Well you said that you weren't annoying. Not all of us tell the truth." Valkyrie retorted, crossing her arms.

"When did I say that I wasn't annoying?" Thor realized what he was implying and quickly began to correct himself. "Not to say that I am annoying-"

"Oh we all know you are, brother." Loki interrupted, preparing a witty insult.

"Shut up, God of Bullshit." Valkyrie chucked her now-empty cocktail glass at Loki's head, which the god barely dodged.

"God of what?!" Loki looked aghast. "I am your king!"

"Ah whatever your majesty." Valkyrie mocked, "I'm starving, what's for dinner Thor?"

"I have no clue!" He shrugged. "It'll be good, of course. No need to worry Peter!"

"I'm not worried, Mr. Thor!" Peter shook his head emphatically.

As if on cue, a man exited the kitchen, holding several large platters. "Dinner is served."

"Good, 'cause I'm starving!" Valkyrie exclaimed, gazing yearningly at the platters. As soon as they were set down on the table, she helped herself to a large helping and immediately dug in.

Thor ate enough food to fill a large elephant, while Loki ate more human portions. The latter seemed to have quite the sweet tooth, and consumed more desert than expected of someone as thin as him. Peter was sure that this was going to be quite the internship.


	5. Feeling Blue

**A/N: So I know I said I'd continue with the Peter internship thing, but I'm just going to make that an independent fic. As for the time of this next chapter? No clue! After Ragnarok I guess, but Odin's alive, Asgard exists, and Thor knows Shuri. It's pretty AUish. This particular chapter battles some racism issues because I think they're really important. Yes, I'm bringing politics into my fics, but it's pertinent and if you have a problem, suck it up.**

 _Your brother can't save you this time._

That one phrase had managed to throw Loki completely off guard. Yes, he was well aware that he was alone in this fight; he had made sure of it. Still, knowing that his brother didn't have his back worried him greatly. What if he was wounded? Who would schlep him back to Asgard, muttering light-hearted insults the whole way? Who would destroy all the enemies in one fell swoop and stand triumphantly in front of him? Without the assurance of Thor, Loki felt defenseless. Regardless, this train of thought was futile. He had procured this entire plan so that he _wouldn't_ be saved by Thor. This battle was supposed to prove his worth; the worth that he had tried to prove time and time again (met mostly by failure). He needed to show the world that he was a strong Asgardian warrior and above his lowly Frost Giant heritage.

A large fist flew towards Loki's face, snapping him abruptly out of his tumultuous daze. With no time to spare, he jerked left, feeling the air be displaced beside his head.

"I said," The tall Vanaheimian growled, his voice scratchy and intimidating, "your brother can't save you this time, god of mischief!"

"I don't need him." Loki bluffed, keeping his voice cool. "I am the price of Asgard. You can't defeat me."

The Vanaheimian chuckled maliciously and swung at Loki again. "You aren't Asgardian, now are you?"

Clenching his teeth, Loki thrust his dagger deep into the enemy's chest. The Vanaheimian's eyes widened in shock and fear as Loki brought his face close to his. "You don't know who I am."

"But I do." He croaked out, wincing from the exertion. "We'll meet again in Hel, _Laufeyson_."

The enemy's last words sent shivers up Loki's spine. _He knew._ He thought, glancing at the myriad of enemies in front of him. _Do they all know? Does everyone know who I am?_ He shook his head, as if to clear the thought from his mind. Filled with new uncertainty, he charged ahead.

Most of the enemies were weak foot soldiers who were incapacitated with minimal effort. Still, minimal effort added up; Loki hardly noticed the strain as it added up slowly, too gradually to process.

Ultimately hoping to show-off, Loki used his magic liberally, creating quite a show. Flashes of green erupted all over the field as he zipped from location to location, taking enemies down in any way possible. Some were stabbed, some completely drained of their energy, some set on fire, and some transformed into small, harmless woodland creatures. As time went on, the number of bodies on the ground increased, as did the number of bunnies and chipmunks.

Unbeknownst to him, his breathing became gradually more rapid and the sparse color drained slowly from his face. Loki was beginning to wonder why some of his spells seemed weaker and why it took more effort to create illusion that should be second nature. Glancing down at his leg, he noticed an open wound that hadn't healed itself. Blood was trickling freely from the gash and pooling on the ground around him. How hadn't he noticed? Brushing off the concern, he focused healing magic on the wound, closing it in seconds. Quickly after, his vision began to undulate slightly.

 _It's no big deal._ He assured himself. _I have more than enough energy to finish this._ Loki charged again, ducking under punches and throwing his knives with pinpoint accuracy. More enemies fell, creating a carpet on top of the grass.

Standing back, Loki admired his handiwork. The carnage in front of him was sure to earn him more than a pat on the back. Perhaps people would talk about this battle.

 _Did you hear what the prince did yesterday?_ Loki imagined the civilians saying. _He took out an entire force of hostile Vanaheimians single handedly! His father must be so proud._

Unconsciously, an illusion of the scene formed in front of him. Suddenly, the image of the civilian woman flickered out like a snuffed candle. Loki felt a pang of exhaustion reverberate through his body, forcing him to his knees. The wounds he had received stopped healing and his breath accelerated to a rapid pace. Beads of sweat trickled off his brow as he began to panic.

 _What's happening?!_ He thought fervently, his mind and vision swimming. _I shouldn't have gone without Thor._ He realized his mistake far too late. Though he didn't want to require Thor's assistance, he knew that he needed it; desperately at that.

Without warning, a blinding white light touched down feet behind Loki's crouching figure. Too disoriented to process what was going on, Loki scrambled messily to his feet, clutching his dagger, ready to fend off any incipient enemy.

"Brother, what is this madness?" A familiar low voice implored, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder. "You look terrible."

Loki squinted at the form in front of him, his vision still swimming dangerously. All he could make out was a blurry head of blonde hair and some type of red cape. He sighed in relief, knowing who was standing in front of him.

"It took me _ages_ to find you!" Thor chastised. "By Odin's beard, what were you doing?"

Loki shook his head mutely, far too exhausted to say anything. Still, he had overexerted himself by using too much magic before; this level of exhaustion was unknown to him. Numbly, he leaned all of his weight onto his brother, exhaling in relief.

His brother always had his back.

* * *

Thor stifled a chuckle as he surveyed the battlefield. Loki had done a rather good job dealing with the Vanaheimians, but it was obvious that he had attempted to show-off a little too much.

 _He's just so flamboyant._ Thor thought hoisting Loki onto his back. As he lifted the god, he noticed a strange blue tint to his hand. _He must have used_ a lot _of magic._ Thor surmised. Loki must have been utterly drained if his subconscious illusion was beginning to fade. Thor knew Loki would loathe being taken back to Asgard, where everyone would see his Jotun form; the only other option was to bring him to Wakanda, where Shuri would be able to treat him better than anyone else.

Holding Loki tightly, Thor stepped back into the bifrost landing zone, raising his hammer to the sky.

"Heimdall!" He exclaimed, "Send us to Wakanda!"

The rainbow light touched down, enveloping the brothers in its brightness. Thor felt his feet be lifted off the ground and hurtled through space.

* * *

Seconds later, the light faded away, leaving Thor in the middle of bustling Wakanda, still clutching Loki. Thankfully, the palace was easy to spot, being located in a highly visible part of the city (the fact that it was the tallest building in Wakanda helped as well). Quickly, Thor made his way to the building, dodging the busy civilians that flooded the streets.

Without as much as a knock, Thor heaved the heavy front door open and walked straight up to Shuri's laboratory.

"Princess, I need your help!" Thor announced, standing in the doorway.

Shuri looked up from the papers she was previously staring at and took in the image before her. "Wonderful!" She exclaimed happily (whether it was feigned or not, Thor was unsure), "More broken white boys for me to fix! I should start a business!"

"Actually," Thor interjected, "if you look at him now, he's rather blue."

"Indeed." Shuri agreed, raising an eyebrow. "Last I saw him, he was rather white. Is this normal?"

"This is his natural state."

"Then why don't I see him like that normally?"

"Well," Thor started, trying to explain the situation to Shuri, "the people of Asgard view his form as monsters. His people are the subject of many scary stories. Some of the dislike towards his people is warranted, since they did try to destroy our world as we know it, but Loki personally has done nothing to harm the Asgardians-" Thor stopped himself. "Okay, he's done a _couple_ harmful things, but he did that in his Aesir form, so that's beside the point."

"Okay, okay," Shuri stopped Thor's story, "I get the gist. Anyway, I like your accent, where you from?"

"I thought you knew?" Thor looked perplexedly at Shuri, "I'm Asgardian, and All-speak should make it so that I don't speak with an accent to anybody."

"Agh, you old people are so useless." Shuri shook her head, "You're supposed to say 'I'm Liberian' and then I reply 'oh sorry, where you from' in a whisper. Let me just heal your brother already."

"I'm not that old!" Thor whined, "I'm barely 1500."

Shuri looked at Thor with a perplexed expression. "You know what? I believe you. Place Loki on the operating table; I have work to do."

He picked up the other god with one arm and placed him on the table with surprising delicacy. Without a second to waste, Shuri got to work.

Within minutes, Loki's face began to look less pale, a vibrant blue color returning rapidly. Soon, his eyelids moved slightly as did his fingers.

"He's waking up!" Thor observed, leaning over his brother, "Hello Loki!"

Loki stirred more, his eyes slowly opening. Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position on the metal table.

"Thor." He mumbled, his voice slurred. "Where am I?"

"Wakanda, brother." Thor replied, placing his palm on Loki's neck. "You really overdid yourself back in Vanaheim."

"Indeed." Loki nodded slowly. As per tradition, he brought his hand up to touch Thor's. Once it was in his vision, his eyes widened and he jumped backwards in shock. "What happened to me?!" He cried, "This isn't right! I-I can't feel the magic?! Where is it?!"

"Calm down." Shuri attempted to place her hand on his shoulder, but it was slapped away before it could make contact. "I blocked your magic temporarily. Retaining the subconscious illusion was making it very difficult for you to heal and replenish the rest of your magic. It'll probably start working again in a half-hour or so."

"No! I can't look like this! Please, I beg of you, bring it back!" Loki's voice was full of fervent panic; his whole body shook in fear.

"Why do you hate your real form so much?" Shuri lowered her voice to a more comforting, conversational tone.

"It's so _loathed_ back at home. I'm nothing but a monster in their eyes."

"It's been like that for my people too." Shuri nodded in mutual understanding. "People hated us for a skin tone. They thought we were dirty, dumb, and unworthy. It was ridiculous really; what does your skin tone or appearance do to influence your mind or heart anyway?"

"It's different."

"Hardly. People on earth still haven't really changed. There's still so much hatred towards black people, but in more subtle ways. Look, I'm not telling you that you have to leave this room in full blue-ness, but I don't think you should be afraid of who you are. You're you and that's all that matters."

"No matter what form you inhabit Loki, you know I will always love you." Thor assured. "Remember when we were children and you went a straight decade as a beautiful young woman? I supported you then and I always will."

"Must I stay in this form?" Loki looked worried.

"Nah. You'll be able to look white again in like ten minutes. I'll grab you a coffee in the meantime."

"It is an incredible beverage, brother." Thor nodded, his eyes glowing with the intensity of a thousand suns. "You must try it."

"I suppose I shall." Loki agreed, looking at himself in the mirror on the opposite wall. Instead of flinching, he nodded thoughtfully and experimented with hairstyles that fit the blue horns on his head. He doubted that he'd be confident enough to leave Shuri's lab in his Jotun form, but at least he wasn't afraid anymore.

 **A/N: Well, that's it! Credit to my best friend for the prompt!**


End file.
